Crepeys do Christmas...

[oldqueenie]

Will this fit the bill. Dull but seasonal?

Aww Herbs, your poor brave soldier.

That reminds me of a family BBQ a few years back when I was too busy with my wine glass to pay any attention to DS, who was trying to tell me that DD2 was about to fall off the ride-on tractor they were sitting in. Cue headlong tumble onto concrete and subsequent possibly-slightly-over-the-limit dash to A&E for stitches.

We are back from Newcastle. DP threw up on the way back, though thankfully within the discreet privacy of a National Trust loo and only once, rather than with the copious repetitions committed by DD2 on the way there.

I actually managed to have a rather lovely time, not least because I bogged off and visited various other friends in the area . DD1 was also in heaven because she adoooooooooores my sister's DS1 - they are so similar, it's hilarious.

How old are these adoring cousins? I love the idea of cousins being pals for life, mainly because my DS is an only child but has cousins by the dozens. Do cousins still like each other as teens and beyond?

Oh MI your driving or the dreaded nuro? Hope he is okay.
Off to work here, trousers feeling a tad tight, eyeing up BIWIs latest low carb thread and wondering if I dare....
Dog is the only one who appears not to have gained weight - indeed seems to have lost some!

BD - @MI - your driving?

I was going to start to shred this morning but woke up too late. As we are now on the train to outlaws, I fear the diet/shred will be even more needed on our return!
However, the train is a pleasant change from the car (which is sick at the garage) apart from having to shoehorn DD out of bed in order to get there in time....

Am I a bad person to wonder whether a touch of noro might be a good thing since I got on the scales this morning and nearly fainted at the number? Although, I once got proper dysentery and only lost about 3 lbs (dh lost over a stone with same bug) so it's probably not the route to weightloss I should pursue. On an S&B note - I did get one v good sale bargain in the Aubin & Wills closing down sale but I can't find the link now, so maybe they have gone completely. Anyway, it's a pair of mod-style red/black fine stripe trousers and I'm v pleased with them, despite the Christmas flub over the waistband (they are a little low in the rise).

Happy New Year everyone

Alto - I think you're maybe right about the bodily rebellion thing - I definitely over-schedule and over-plan life and probably some enforced sofa time is an occasional good thing. Not sure how I can let go of the sense of So Much Stuff To Do, Can't Relax feelings that are constantly present though. I think that's my next step on the personal development path...

Morris - I am an only child (if I can be described as such at my age), and have several cousins that I am close to - we speak/email quite regularly, and one of them even had my mother to stay for Christmas (we were hosting the outlaws and my mother was so rude to them at our wedding that they haven't seen or spoken to each other since).

Wilbur - I also have those Can't Relax feelings and So Much To Do - to the extent that when I spent a day at a spa, I spent most of my time thinking of things I could usefully be doing instead, so it wasn't a very relaxing day! I do feel like I need a holiday to recover from Christmas now though..

I am usually of the long 'to do' list too, but seem to have developed a case of 'oh bugger it' this holiday. I actually like being out of a big city - I felt no compulsion to do the sales
I am at a friends tonight - he is nearer work and as dp and ds are still off I thought I'd let them have a lie in. Dp's birthday tomorrow...
MrsS just reading about your Christmas makes me come over all faint
What did your mother say that was so rude??

Morris (and hello!) the order of children goes: DN1 is just 13, DD1 is nearly 12, DD2 is nine and DN2 is also nine (a few months younger than, and therefore a whole school year below DD2). The youngest two look scarily similar, like slightly deranged twins.

I am now good friends with a couple of my very nice adult cousins too...

Lucky DD1 has 4 girl cousins aged within seven months of her age, so she's never short of a buddy at any family gathering.

Ds is an only. He has five cousins on dp's side and us very close to two of them (spent two hours secluded in a bedroom discussing 'stuff' on Christmas Day. He has two on my side - a lot older however. I really feel I should try to hook up more with my cousins as their children are more of ds's age.

Ruby, same re the lying in late, eek!

DC have no cousins as I am an only and DH's brother hasn't got any children. He has, however, got a new girlfriend who we met yesterday who has two lovely young DC who were particularly taken with DD. Hope it lasts!

I am knackered as I have been awake since 4 as something at MIL's has triggered a mild asthma attack and I didn't think to bring an inhaler as I haven't needed it in months

My cousins and I were reminiscing on FB about our family Christmases as children. We used to have a huge family party at our house in the evening, with everyone staying over - I think we were usually around 25-26 in total, with children squashed 6 to a double bed for sleeping and lots of people on the floor. My mother had the house pulled down after my father died as she couldn't manage either the house or the garden and the land got sold to a developer who build nasty "executive homes" on the land - a sort of gated community, which is completely out of character with the rest of the road, which is basically an unmade farm track with well spaced out houses that leads to the river.

[rushes in breathless, waving virtual shopping bags] Laydeez - Brora are having a v good sale here! Not much off the posh cashmere, or rather there's a fair bit taken off, but still a lot to pay for moth food, BUT their trousers, tops, dresses etc have some massive discounts - I have just bought 3 pairs trousers, a jersey dress (not sure about this, there are pleats involved so it could go either way), 2 tops and an extremely cute pair of shorts for dd for £100 in total. Bargain!

Lovely to hear about people being close to cousins - it's interesting because although I have a cousin exactly my age she grew up in Canada so I didn't see much of her growing up, but on the incredibly rare occasions we do see each other, it's lovely and not awkward at all, even though she has had a tough time of it and lost her way a bit (long-term unemployed etc). The cousin I am closest to now is actually 10 years older than me (so again, we weren't close as children), but he's great, his 3 daughters are fabulous girls and I love them all to bits. The dc have loads of cousins on dh's side, so everyone has a very merry time when we get together and I hope that continues. On my side, they have one cousin who is ds1's age but we haven't seen dn for over two years as her mother (my sister) has decided she no longer wants me in her life. It's v sad as dn is wonderful and I miss her massively. Families, eh? Maybe MrsS and my sister could swap - I reckon sis and MrsS's mother would get on like a house on fire, they could spend hours together blaming the rest of the world for everything.

BTM - sorry to hear about the asthma - that happens to me occasionally and it's v frustrating.

My new boots have arrived. They are (a) rather wellyish (b) blissfully comfortable....here

I have tried mine and they work well with girly frocks . They are the sort of thing you wear on construction sites. I love them.

I think it helps that my feet are mutantly small. For once.

O, very nice.

Am worried about my boots. But not enough to send them back. They are so comfy.

Good boot work, crepesters.

Our builders have reappeared, and seem to be doing tiling today. They installed the new worktops yesterday, and they look NICE. I think I may survive the experience after all.

Starving hungry, but have only limited access to the kitchen. I need to plan this carefully.

Re cousins, DS has three on my side (my sister's children 4, 6, and 9), and five on DP's (5, 6, 13, 14 and 17). Fortunately for him, they all adore him. He'll be well looked after, I reckon. Which is a good job, as he'll be an only child.

Hellish day yesterday. Builders appeared at 7.45, without warning, so had to clear the kitchen. Had hangover build-up and a hideous cold, rendering me incapable of thought, then got the train and tube to the Natural History Museum to meet some friends over from Bristol. It was so crowded. And DS couldn't give a stuff about dinosaurs. The restaurant was good, though. Gave the kiddies little bowls of various sprinkles for their ice cream, so it became a project. Kept them quite for hours.

MIL does NOT have a real tree but we have so can't blame it on that!

Re cousins, I never got to know the 5 on my fathers side but we had lovely family friends with 4 DC (oldest 3 adopted) that I was lucky to spend a bit of my childhood with. And then I managed to get my DM to make up with her brother and got to know my other 4 cousins in my early 20's.

Herbs, glad it's not just my DS (and DD) who was not remotely interested in dinosaurs. Balls though....

Am feeling of your kitchen